Short Papers IV South American Symposium on Isotope Geology

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Pb-Pb ZIRCON AGE (EVAPORATION) OF BLUE COLOURED SODALITE-SYENITE ORE IN
THE SOUTH BAHIA ALKALINE PROVINCE (NE BRAZIL)

Rosa, M.L.S.
1,2
; Conceio, H.
1,2
; Macambira, M.J.B.
3
; Marinho, M.M.
2,4
; Marques, L.S.
5
;
Scheller, T.
3
; Rios, D.C.
2
; Peixoto, A.A.
2
; Cunha, M.P.
2
and Menezes, R.C.L.
2


1. Pesquisadora CNPq IGEO UFBA, Rua Caetano Moura 123, 40201-340, Salvador-BA, Brazil. lourdes@cpgg.ufba.br
2. Grupo de Petrologia Aplicada. herbet@cpgg.ufba.br, debora@cpgg.ufba.br, mpcunha@ufba.br,
menezesrita@hotmail.com, aap@cpgg.ufba.br
3. Laboratrio de Geologia Isotpica, UFPA, CP 1611, 66075-900, Belm-PA, Brazil. moamac@ufpa.br, tscheller@ufpa.br
4. Companhia Baiana de Pesquisa Mineral, 4
a
Avenida 460, 41760-300, Salvador-BA, Brazil. cbpmdt@cbpm.com.br
5. Instituto Astronmico e Geofsico-USP, Caixa Postal 3386, 01060-970, So Paulo-SP, Brazil. leila@iag.usp.br


Keywords: Sodalite-syenite, Pb-Pb, zircon, Bahia, Brazil

INTRODUCTION
The South Bahia Alkaline Province (SBAP) is the
only place in Brazil were occurences of blue colored
sodalite-syenite ore have been identified (Fig. 1). These
syenites represent the most important dimension stone of
Brazil.
The SBAP covers an area of about 6,500 km
2
been
composed by twenty NE-SW elongated silica sub-
saturated alkaline massifs. At this province, the sodalite-
syenites consist of small stocks, less than 4 km
2
, that
intrude alkaline bodies and are always associated to
nepheline-syenites. The alkaline massifs intrude an
Archaean to Paleoproterozoic granulitic-migmatitic-
anorthositic terrain at the tectonic interface between the
So Francisco Craton and Araua mobile belt.
The available geochronological data (Rb-Sr, K-Ar, U-
Pb) for the SBAP alkaline massifs are very
heterogeneous, ranging from 500 Ma to 740 Ma (Cordani
et al., 1974; Martins & Santos, 1993; Teixeira et al.,
1997, Crrea Gomes & Oliveira, 2002). These data must
reflect the crystallization ages and late metamorphic
events related to Araua Orogen.
At 1960 these sodalite-syenite start to be exploited as
dimension stones, therefore only now
207
Pb/
206
Pb zircon
evaporation analyses have been performed. In this paper
we will present for the first time the results of a
geochronological investigation at two mineralized sites
which are located at the Floresta Azul Alkaline Complex
and Itarantim Syenitic Massif.

ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES
The ages of these blue syenites were investigated by
single zircon Pb-evaporation technique developed by
Kber (1986, 1987). The data were obtained at the
Laboratory for Isotope Geology, Par Federal University
(Par-Iso), Brazil, on a Finnigan MAT 262 thermal
ionization mass spectrometer. The ages were calculated
with 2 error and common Pb values consider only those
blocks in which the
204
Pb/
206
Pb ratio were lower than
0.0004. For more details see Rosa et al. (2003).

FLORESTA AZUL ALKALINE COMPLEX (FAAC)
This complex cover an area of about 200 km
2
and
intruded the granulitic rocks from Itabuna Belt. It is
formed of two intrusions: granitic (East) and syenitic
(South). The sample was colected in the south part in a
quarry mainly composed by green coloured biotite-
nepheline-syenite rocks. The blue coloured sodalite-
syenites occur as sub-vertical bands with about 5 m of
thickness (Cunha, 2003).

ITARANTIM SYENITIC MASSIF (ISM)
This massif cover an area of about 220 km
2
and
intruded the archean and paleoproterozoic gneissic-
granulitic basement rocks. The ISM is composed by
aegirine-nepheline-syenites and sodalite-syenite alkaline
dykes. The samples were colected in a 3 m wide dyke. At
the sampled site, rocks are medium- to coarsed-grained
and sodalite represents up to 40% in volume.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Sample 2098 (UTM 415328-8345604), corresponding
to a blue coloured biotite sodalyte-syenite, was selected at
the FAAC site (Fig. 1). This is a coarsed grained rock
with centimetric (up to 3 cm) zircon crystals. Only a
single zircon population was identified at this sample,
which correspond to brown rediish long prismatic habit
crystals, ranging in size from 1 to 2 cm. Some fractures
and inclusions have been observed.
The minnimum crystallization age obtained for this
rock was 706 12 Ma. The age of the alkali-feldspar
syenites, which are the country rocks for them, is 688
10 Ma (Crrea Gomes & Oliveira, 2002) allowing us to
consider them as contemporaneous rocks.
Two samples from ISM 2034 (UTM 379141-
8251337) and 2035 (UTM 379146-8251340), which are
sodalite-syenites, have been selected for
geochronological analyses (Fig. 1). This single
population analysed crystals were dark to light brow
zircons, with sizes ranging from 0.2 to 0.5 mm, translucid
and without observed inclusions.

Short Papers IV South American Symposium on Isotope Geology

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Figura 1. Location map of South Bahia Alkaline Province (SBAP) in the Bahia State [A]. Sketch map of SBAP [B]. City [1], State
border [2], faults and fractures [3], overthrust fault [4], covers [5], neoproterozoic alkaline massifs [6], mesoproterozoic meta-
sediments [7], archaean-paleoproterozoic rocks [8a= granulites and 8b= gneisses]. Localization of the samples.


They result in 720 9 Ma and 732 24 Ma ages.
These ages are superposed to the ones obtained for their
country rocks, which are aged at 727 30 Ma (Rb-Sr on
whole rock; Rosa et al., 2002). This suggests that the ore
and country rocks were formed at the same time.

FINAL REMARKS
The data obtained with this work indicate that the
Floresta Azul Alkaline Complex (706 2 Ma) and the
Itarantim Syenitic Massif (720 9 and 732 24 Ma)
have similar ages, considering the errors involved. They
superpose the ages obtained for the country rocks. These
evidences reinforce the hypothesis that the blue coloured
sodalite syenites generation can be related to special
conditions, which occur during the final stages of the
crystalization process and seems to vigorate at some of
the syenitic massifs from the South Bahia Alkaline
Province.
Moreover, these new ages are of great importance
for the understanding of the regional tectonic context,
showing that the alkaline magmatism emplacement has
no correlation with the Araua Collision (625 to 570 Ma;
Cordani et al., 1974; Pedrosa Soares et al., 2001).
Short Papers IV South American Symposium on Isotope Geology

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This work was supported by CNPq (Process:
301392/00-5 and 303581-03-4) and Companhia Baiana
de Pesquisa Mineral. This is contribution number 143 of
GPA-CPGG-IGEO-UFBA.

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